A pulsed laser system with large spectral coverage extended by non-linear frequency conversion

We report on an injection-seeded Ti:sapphire laser pumped by the second harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser. Due to an excellent spatial beam profile and narrow linewidth near the Fourier transform limit we are able to achieve high conversion efficiencies and stable output power in harmonic generation as well as in sum and difference frequency mixing with the pump pulse. The laser system can potentially cover a spectral range from 190 to over 6000 nm.     

Quantitative studies of copper plasma using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy

In the present work, we present the spatial evolution of the copper plasma produced by the fundamental harmonic (1064 nm) and second harmonic (532 nm) of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. The experimentally observed line profiles of neutral copper have been used to extract the electron temperature using the Boltzmann plot method, whereas, the electron number density has been determined from the Stark broadening. Besides we have studied the variation of electron temperature and electron number density as a function of laser energy at atmospheric pressure. The Cu I lines at 333.78, 406.26, 465.11 and 515.32 nm are used for the determination of electron temperature. The relative uncertainty in the determination of electron temperature is ≈10%. The electron temperature calculated for the fundamental harmonic (1064 nm) of Nd:YAG laser is 10500–15600 K, and that for the second harmonic (532 nm) of Nd:YAG laser is 11500–14700 K at a Q Switch delay of 40 μs. The electron temperature has also been calculated as a function of laser energy from the target surface for both modes of the laser. We have also studied the spatial behavior of the electron number density in the plume. The electron number densities close to the target surface (0.05 mm), in the case of fundamental harmonic (1064 nm) of Nd:YAG laser having pulse energy 135 mJ and second harmonic (532 nm) of Nd:YAG laser with pulse energy 80 mJ are 2.50×10¹⁶ and 2.60×10¹⁶ cm⁻³, respectively.     

Enhanced drilling using a dual-pulse Nd:YAG laser

A new method for improving the efficiency of laser drilling has been developed. Two synchronized free-running laser pulses from a tandem-head Nd:YAG laser are capable of drilling through 1/8-in-thick stainless-steel targets at a stand-off distance of 1 m without gas-assist. The combination of a high-energy laser pulse for melting with a properly tailored high-intensity laser pulse for liquid expulsion results in the efficient drilling of metal targets. We argue that the improvement in drilling is due to the recoil pressure generated by rapid evaporation of the molten material by the second laser pulse. Received: 29 August 2000 / Accepted: 18 December 2000 / Published online: 3 April 2001     

激光二极管侧面泵浦高功率266 nm紫外激光器

 报道了一种半导体激光列阵侧面泵浦Nd：YAG四倍频266 nm全固态紫外激光器,采用Z型腔结构,Ⅰ类临界相位匹配LBO和BBO晶体分别作为二倍频晶体和四倍频晶体。在调制频率为5 kHz时,最终获得了2.1 W的266 nm紫外激光输出,单脉冲能量420 μJ, 绿光到紫外激光的转换率为13.13%,在相同的泵浦功率下利用V型腔结构仅获得305 mW的266 nm紫外激光输出。     

Peculiarity of metal drilling with a commercial femtosecond laser

A commercial femtosecond pulse laser was used to study the interaction of ultrashort laser pulses with aluminum. Tests were conducted to measure the average drilling rate over a range of laser pulse energies in both air and vacuum at the wavelengths corresponding to the fundamental and second harmonic of the laser. For the fundamental wavelength, it was observed that the drilling rates in vacuum were significantly higher than that for drilling in atmospheric air. For the laser beam that was converted to second harmonic, the drilling rate in vacuum at the same energy was slightly lower than that for drilling in air. The observed results can be explained by the presence of an energetic nanosecond pedestal in the laser pulse produced by the femtosecond laser system. This nanosecond component provides a major contribution into drilling and it is strongly affected by the optical breakdown plasma that reduces the drilling rate in air. Conversion to second harmonic reduces the relative energy content of the nanosecond component resulting in a higher contrast femtosecond pulse that is not affected by the near surface plasma. The presence of air results in self-focusing of the second harmonic laser beam, causing an increased drilling rate as compared to the interaction in vacuum.     

Characterization of laser-diode end-pumped intracavity frequency doubled, passively Q-switched and mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser

Simultaneous Q-switching and mode-locking in a laser-diode end-pumped intracavity frequency doubled Nd:YVO₄/KTP green laser using Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber is experimentally demonstrated. The influence of the initial transmission (T₀) of the Cr⁴⁺:YAG crystal on the Q-switched mode-locked green pulses as well as on the average green power is characterized by using Cr⁴⁺:YAG crystal with various T₀. The effect of T₀ on the pulse build-up time in intracavity second harmonic configuration is theoretically investigated. It was found that the depth of modulation for the mode-locked pulses is greatly improved at the second harmonic wavelength as compared to that for the fundamental wavelength. The average pulse duration of the individual mode-locked pulse for the second harmonic beam measured to be less than 500 ps with a repetition rate of 400 MHz.     

The search for a molecule to measure an autocorrelation trace of the second/third harmonic emission of a Ti:sapphire laser based on two-photon resonant excitation and subsequent one-photon ionization

The temporal profile of the second and third harmonic emissions of a Ti:sapphire laser was measured using an autocorrelator consisting of a mass spectrometer as a two-photon-response detector. A number of organic compounds that are potentially applicable for two-photon excitation and subsequent one-photon ionization were investigated using density functional theory calculations. N,N′-dimethylaniline and acetonitrile were used for the measurement of the pulse width for the second and third harmonic emissions of the Ti:sapphire laser. This approach has the potential for use in measuring pulse widths as short as 1–3 fs in the ultraviolet region.     

Harmonic generation in an ionized gas medium with a 100-femtosecond, high repetition rate laser source at intermediate intensities

 We report the realization of a vacuum-ultraviolet radiation source based on high-order harmonic generation in noble-gas samples, operating at high repetition rate. In particular, we observed up to the 13th harmonic (λ=61 nm) of the fundamental frequency of a short pulse, high repetition rate titanium–sapphire laser after its interaction with a Xe gas jet. The effects of the propagation of the fundamental and harmonic beams through an ionized medium are studied by analysing the spectral profile of the 9th and 7th harmonics. Finally, we report a study of the dependence of the harmonic conversion efficiency on relative position of the focus and the gas target. Received: 29 March 1996/Revised version: 25 July 1996     

激光脉冲在气体中产生的离化波前的演化及其对光脉冲传播的影响

利用带离化子程序的一维粒子模拟程序，对光脉冲与离化波前的相互作用进行了模拟研究，讨论了在原子多度电离的情况下光脉冲与离化波前的相互作用关系.研究表明，由于原子各级离化势的不连续性使得离化波前在空间上出现平台区；离化过程导致激光频率发生蓝移，这个蓝移又对脉冲形状产生调制，使脉冲前沿呈阶跃型增长；阶跃型的光脉冲包络使离化波前的平台区变短，直至整个离化波前分为几个不同梯度的区域.还讨论了不同元素和不同密度的气体中产生的离化波前的特点.同时分析了光脉冲频率随传播距离的关系，指出由于光脉冲宽度的增加，将导致出射的光 关键词： 激光等离子体 光电离 离化波前 激光频率上转换     

A Raman laser system for multi-wavelength satellite laser ranging

~~A Raman laser system for multi-wavelength satellite laser ranging@K.Hamal$Czech Technical University in Prague,Czech @I.Prochazka$Czech Technical University in Prague,Czech @J.Blazej$Czech Technical University in Prague,Czech1. Yang Fumin, Chen Wanzhen, Zhang Zhongping et al., Satellite laser ranging experiment with sub-centimeter single-shot ranging precision at Shanghai Observatory, Science in China, Ser. A, 2002, 32(10): 935-939. 2. Degnan, J. J., Millimeter accurac…     

Compact high conversion efficiency Nd:YAG/LBO green laser using unstable V cavity

We demonstrated a 36.9 W green laser with an intra-cavity second harmonic generation. A compact unstable V type cavity was adopted to compress the whole cavity configuration. The type I phase-matching LiB₃O₅ was used as the nonlinear crystal in the second harmonic generation. The 36.9 W average power and 38 ns pulse width of 532 nm green laser was obtained at a repetition rate of 10.3 kHz, corresponding to a peak power of 94 kW. The optical to optical conversion efficiency from diode to green and from IR to green laser was about 19.8 and 82%, the whole cavity length is about 300 mm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the shortest cavity configuration of side pump green system with output power higher than 30 W and IR to green conversion efficiency larger than 80%. The output fluctuation of this system was less than 3% in 2 h.     

Green sub-nanosecond microchip laser based on BiBO crystals

Frequency doubling of a passively Q-switched microchip laser using BiBO crystals is reported. Generation of green second harmonic at 532 nm with pulse energies of 2.4–3.4 μJ and conversion efficiency of 25–35% is demonstrated.     

Efficient and high-power green beam generation by frequency doubling of acousto-optic Q-switched diode-side pumped Nd:YAG rod laser in a coupled cavity

A 52-W green laser at 532 nm by extra-cavity second-harmonic generation in a coupled-cavity configuration is demonstrated. The fundamental laser is a diode-side-pumped acousto-optic (AO) Q-switched Nd:YAG rod laser producing 84 W of average power at 1064 nm at 8 kHz repetition rate. Type-II phase-matched polished KTP crystal is used as the nonlinear crystal for second-harmonic generation. The individual green pulse width is 50 ns and the fundamental to second harmonic conversion efficiency is 61.8%.     

One hundred and twenty one W green laser generation from a diode-side-pumped Nd:YAG laser by use of a dual-V-shaped configuration

To ensure high-average-power and long-lifetime second harmonic generation, a dual-V-shaped configuration was designed. In this thermally near-unstable resonator, large fundamental mode size in Nd:YAG rod and small one in LBO crystal could be generated, which improved both the beam quality and the power density. A green output power of 121 W with pulse width of 68 ns and repetition rate of 10 kHz was obtained. To the best of our knowledge, the dual-V-shaped configuration is the first time used for green laser with average output power of more than 100 W.     

飞秒掺钛蓝宝石激光三倍频理论和实验研究

从理论和实验上分别研究了飞秒掺钛蓝宝石激光二倍频和三倍频的非线性频率转换过程.采 用Ⅰ类相位匹配非共线和频方法得到飞秒掺钛蓝宝石激光的三倍频2601nm输出，转换效 率达64%, 脉冲宽度为169fs.这为时间分辨电子显微镜提供了一种超短脉冲的紫外光源. 关键词： 飞秒激光 三倍频 时间分辨 BBO晶体     

Second harmonic generation of a self-focused Hermite-Gaussian laser in plasma

Second harmonic generation (SHG) using intense Hermite-Gaussian laser beam (HGLB) propagating through the plasma for mode-indices m = 0 and m = 1 is reported in the present work. Ponderomotive force induced density perturbation beats with the oscillatory velocity of electrons at incident laser frequency, generate the second harmonic nonlinear current that give rise to SHG. Using paraxial approximations, we have derived the coupled equations for the beam width parameter of HGLB and second harmonic's normalized amplitude. Resonance condition is obtained by considering wiggler magnetic field which providing an extra momentum to the second harmonic photon and this result a significant increase in the amplitude of SHG. Our analysis shows the prominent rise in normalized amplitude of second harmonic on increasing the value of the intensity of fundamental laser pulse, normalized wiggler magnetic field and normalized density of plasma. It is notified that the gain of SHG is more prominent for m = 1. Dependency of laser and plasma parameters on SHG is also reported in the current work.     

Numerical solutions of diode-pumped dual-loss-modulated Q-switched and mode-locked green laser with acousto-optic modulator and Cr: YAG saturable absorber

By considering the influence of the acousto-optic (AO) modulator and the nonlinear loss due to harmonic conversion in the intra-cavity frequency-doubling laser, a developed rate equation model for diode-pumped dual-loss-modulated Q-switched and mode-locked (QML) Nd:LuVO₄/KTP green laser with acousto-optic (AO) modulator and Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber is presented. With this developed model, the pulse width, single-pulse energy and the other dual-loss-modulated QML green laser characteristics are numerically simulated. The simulation results show that the turnoff time is of great importance for the pulse energy and pulse width of the Q-switched pulse. A diode-pumped dual-loss-modulated QML Nd:LuVO₄/KTP laser is constructed to successfully demonstrate the numerical simulation application.     

Resonant third harmonic generation of a short pulse laser in plasma by applying a wiggler magnetic field

We examine the effect of wiggler magnetic field on pulse slippage of short pulse laser-induced third harmonic generation in plasma. The process of third harmonic generation of an intense short pulse laser in plasma is resonantly enhanced by the application of a magnetic wiggler. The laser exerts a ponderomotive force at second harmonic driving density oscillations. The second harmonic oscillations coupled with electron velocity at the laser frequency, produces a non-linear current, driving the third harmonic. Third harmonic pulse generates in the fundamental pulse domain. However, the group velocity of the third harmonic wave is greater than the fundamental wave. Hence, the third harmonic pulse saturates strongly and moves forward from the fundamental pulse at shorter distance than the second harmonic pulse.     

三色激光控制量子路径生成短于30阿秒的孤立脉冲

采用多周期的800 nm钛宝石激光组合1600 nm中红外脉 冲辐照氦离子产生高次谐波发射功率谱. 相对于单色场情形, 谐波谱出现明显的双平台结构, 且在第二平台区出现了光滑的连续辐射谱, 其转化效率相对于第一平台低了约两个数量级. 通过附加脉宽为1 fs的27次谐波脉冲到双色激光场的特定时域, 可以控制电子电离在半个光学周期内迅速提升, 获得了由单一短量子路径贡献的连续辐射谱, 使得第二平台区谐波的转化效率相对于组合场情形增强4个数量级, 且连续谱的频谱范围从第二平台区扩展到第一平台区, 叠加该连续谱190次到285次谐波生成了脉宽为29 as的强、短孤立脉冲.